自家宝藏的失而复得——晚清久佚唯识典籍由日本反传中国之影响

On the Influences of Reverse Spread of Texts on Consciousness-only from Japan back to China in Late Qing Dynasty

近代中国佛教史上,一个很引人注意的现象是晚清民初的唯识学复兴。唯识学复兴与中国已佚古唯识学典籍从日本传回有关,没有杨文会与日本南条文雄的联系,就没有这批典籍反传中国,没有这批唯识典籍,也不会有后来佛学取向的变化。不过,探究更深层的历史原因,则应该看到这与中国当时面临的危机有关。当时,西洋科学与哲学思想挟"进步"、"富强"之势影响东亚,中国士人与中国佛教必须回应西洋的科学与哲学,佛教必须拿出一些足以证明自己既比西方文化更适合于科学与技术、政治与经济的发展,又比西方基督教更适合拯救东方人的心灵的思想来,因而日本反传中国的唯识典籍,恰好给中国的知识界与佛教界提供了佛教对西洋科学与哲学回应和理解的资源,这使得佛教在晚清民初的中国思想世界中,竟然成为理解各种外来新思想的一个途径。

The revival of Consciousness - only school in late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China is a striking phenomenon in the history of Buddhism in modem China. The revival of Consciousness - only school is related to the reverse spread of texts on Consciousness - only which had been lost for a long time from Japan back to China. The predestined relationship between Yang Wenhui（杨文会）and Nanjo Bunyu（南条文雄） played an important part during this process. There would be no change of Buddhist orientation without this group of Consciousness - only texts. Nevertheless, there are some deep - seated historical reasons for the orientation of Buddhism which have something to do with the crisis in China. Western science and philosophy had a great impact on East Asia at that time, both Chinese scholars and Buddhism have to response to the situation. Under this circumstance, Chinese Buddhism must put forward some ideas in order to demonstrate that Buddhism is more suitable for the developments of science ＆ technology, and politics ＆ economy than Western culture, and that it can save the mind of orientals more effectively than Christianity. Therefore, the reverse spread of Consciousness - only texts from Japan back to China just provided resources for intelligentsia and Buddhism to response to Western science and philosophy,and thus made Buddhism a method to understand a variety of foreign ideas among Chinese thought circle in late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.